A cereal box is more than just something to read while you're eating breakfast. You can use it as a foundation for many inexpensive crafts you can make at home. And, with a hungry family, you're never short on supply.

Recycling and reusing pre-produced materials is an easy way to be green. If getting your trash to the local recycling center is a bit of a hassle, you have other options for making use of that old box. Before you throw it away, consider the many crafts you can use it for. Just gather your leftover cardboard with a few other materials from around your home, and you can transform your trash into treasure, usually using well under $5 worth of materials.

Other than a box, the three most important tools you will need for these projects are a pair of scissors, a glue stick and a bottle of decoupage. But don't think that because the list of materials is short that these projects will be boring or bland. Grab some glitter pens, ribbon, wallpaper scraps and any other decorations you have handy, because this article will guide you through plenty of ways to use them.